The Australian Women's Weekly October 2018

This month is one of our favourites in The Weekly calendar as we get to share with you the winners of our Women of the Future Awards (see page 57). Be it poring over the 100-plus entries from exceptional young women nationwide, or debating the merits of our finalists with my esteemed fellow judges (right), it’s a hugely inspiring campaign. Little could any of us have suspected that just weeks after I sat across the table from the then deputy Liberal leader to discuss the Women of the Future candidates, it would be her future that was being hotly debated across the country. Whatever your views on Julie Bishop’s politics are – and we know from your letters they are varied – you’d be hard pushed not to admire her…

LETTER of the MONTH I have the strongest admiration for Cassandra Thorburn in rebuilding her life after her divorce from Karl Stefanovic ( My new life without Karl, AWW, September). She has taken on a huge challenge to redefine herself as a single working parent and has supported her children in the difficult transition for all when there is a family breakdown. The role model of a strong loving mother will go a long way to making the children compassionate and caring adults. It is a long process to rebuild your life but your strength and dignity will serve you and your children well. For all broken families every step forward, however small, is a step towards a brighter future. J. Matheson, via email. GIFT THAT KEEPS…

Dear Weekly readers After five years as Australia’s first female Foreign Minister, it was a great honour to be on the cover of The Australian Women’s Weekly for its 85th anniversary celebrations. At the end of a tumultuous month in federal politics, I share with readers some thoughts on the role of women in our society. The nations of our world will only reach their potential when they fully harness the energy, skill, intellect and ideas of the 50 per cent of the population that is female. Unless all of their people have an opportunity to contribute to society, nations will be poorer for the ongoing entrenched inequality. Currently, no country can claim to have achieved gender equality, let alone in leadership roles across government, business…

Royal family tours isles THE DANISH ROYAL family wisely wrapped themselves in the traditional wool costumes of the Faroe Islands for a visit to the archipelago of rugged, volcanic islands that lie between Iceland and Norway. Crown Princess Mary’s costume featured silver details that had been designed just for her, bestowed upon her during her first visit to the islands in 2005. The women’s national uniform features an apron and scarf of dark green wool embellished with a marguerite pattern, while the men’s costume features a red vest embroidered with leaves in different shades of green. Princess Josephine and Princess Isabella kept their heads warm with blue wool “kyses”. WONDER WOMAN Australian director Cate Shortland, will make her Hollywood debut directing the Marvel blockbuster Black Widow, starring Scarlet Johansson. Scarlet…

ARETHA FRANKLIN “The greatest voice in American popular music has been stilled,” wrote Bette Midler on the death of soul queen Aretha Franklin from pancreatic cancer, aged 76, but it was Elton John who perhaps best summed up the magnitude of the loss: “The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen.” KOFI ANNAN Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been remembered as a visionary and a “guiding force for good”. The Nobel Peace Laureate passed away in Switzerland, aged 80, surrounded by his family.…

It takes courage to face demons, dark truths buried so deep you dare not speak their name and let them out into the light for all to see. For Sally Field, one of Hollywood’s most admired and well-known actors, double Oscar and triple Emmy winner, such a venture is frankly Herculean. And yet as I sit in the soothing peace and quiet of her sun-drenched Los Angeles home, high up in the hills and canyons overlooking the impeccably blue Pacific, I sense a weight has been lifted from Sally’s tiny shoulders. At 71, the mother of three and grandmother of five feels an urgent need to pull the multifarious pieces of her life together and it’s a journey which started seven years ago. It was Sally’s 65th birthday when her…